Figueira da Foz lies at the mouth of the Mondego river, on the Atlantic coast of central Portugal, about 45 kilometres from Coimbra. Since the late nineteenth century it has been one of the country's most popular seaside resorts, the "queen of beaches", a favourite of families from Coimbra, Lisbon and Spain too, with a casino, period hotels and a lively summer scene.
The beach
Praia da Claridade is remarkable for its size: the building of the jetty at the river mouth caused sand to build up, and in places the beach is several hundred metres wide, so you walk a long way on wooden boardwalks to reach the water. Along the seafront are the sixteenth-century fort of Santa Catarina and many cafés. The nineteenth-century casino is one of the oldest in the country.
Buarcos and Cabo Mondego
To the north the beach continues to Buarcos, an old fishing village with remains of walls and fish restaurants, and on to Cabo Mondego, a headland with a lighthouse and important Jurassic geological sites rich in fossils. Behind it rises the Serra da Boa Viagem, a wooded hill with trails and viewpoints over the ocean and town.
The town
In the centre, visit the Palácio Sotto Mayor, a sumptuous early twentieth-century residence inspired by French architecture, with decorated interiors. The Santos Rocha Municipal Museum has archaeological and ethnographic collections. South of the river are the salt pans of Lavos, with an interpretation centre, and the beaches of Cova Gala and Costa de Lavos.
Surroundings
About twenty kilometres along the Mondego, Montemor-o-Velho castle overlooks a plain of rice fields; it is one of the largest castles in the region. Figueira is linked to Coimbra by train and bus, and to Lisbon by motorway (about two hours).